Diane B.

May 7, 2010

Here's a summary of where I've been and what I've been doing (from present, back to college anyway) for those of you I keep running into at Facebook/etc from my past, or anyone else interested (...scanned and added a few photos from those days too):

...1989-present: Sunnyvale, California ("Silicon Valley") ...DH (Roger) is a computer architect --sometimes hardware too (working at several companies around here over those 20 years), plus physics-person who likes to invent things, gentle, smart, open-minded and interested in many areas, good match for me, etc. ...son Devin is senior at Univ. of California, Santa Cruz (and Resident Assis. in dorm) which is 45 min away but "over the hill" of Hwy 17, a difficult drive; he's also worked at local Parks and Rec in various capacities since high school and is quite a mover and shaker these days; currently some combination of psychology/lit./education majors; past or current interests in theater (techie mostly), rock climbing, fencing, RA Council, adminitration, music (many,various), technology (early adopter), Star Wars, kids/teens, etc ...I've mostly done the involved-mom thing and Devin went to a parent-participation alternative public school K-8 which called for even more, but have also given a lot of time to a huge website on polymer clay (don't keep it up as much now), to various arts/crafts and other interests/tech-toys/etc, and to my favorite thing which just investigating and understanding "stuff"...have fibromyalgia which limits what I can do but bad flare-up was 1991-2000 so much-much better now...walk every day, cook and eat healthy, etc.

...1981-1989: San Diego, CA (suburbia) ...R joined software start-up company...Devin born in 1988... I mostly pursued photography, learned quilting, did various other craft-type things, etc, then learned about motherhood that last year and a half (wow, intense!)
...pics: house before landscaping, surprise flower-stalk of agave at xmastime, back patio, part of the 30' bougainvillea along our back fence (next to key lime tree) with our 2 cats observing, me with R's mother and father, R playing solitaire with Squeaky in one of her favorite spots, Devin first few months after birth

...1979-1981: Vashon Island (accessible by ferry, off Seattle)... R had purchased a sorta-cabin when he'd begun working for Boeing near Seattle and was renovating it into more of a house; I did some of that too when I moved in including tearing out wall boards/wallboard puttying/etc--not my favorites but necessary. R commuted daily to work by car and ferry and I generally stayed on the island (mostly in saving-money mode)... we moved away in '81 for new job (though I wasn't a 24/7 isolated-rural-person quite yet either so had voted for moving at some point--R could happily have lived there forever or better on the tippy top of an alpine-type mountain--grew up in Colorado)
...pics: house (on steep hill--beach and R's sailboat down at water), our garden and wild blackberry canes plus neighbor's shack with cherry tree, Snowy under R in hammock, down the hill at water with Beth in backpack, in Hoh Rainforest, with friend Sherry Harris

...1978: traveled (alone) for a year around the U.S. in old public-TV delivery van I'd bought and built into an unobvious camper over about 3 months (see below: black gauze windows, wall/door behind driver's seat, plus bed, closet, elec. light to extra battery, gas camp stove with venting to wheel hub, etc)... cooked, bathed, and spent nights in my cozy turtle-home, often in the parking lots of Holiday Inns/etc usually getting shower and hair-wash once a week often at camping areas
...hit most of the 50 states I hadn't been in before starting with a fabulous trip to King Tut exhibit in New Orleans....total of about 34,000 miles, I think ....learned much about myself and life during all that solo driving too
...pics below of van interior (behind wall and driving area), its unassuming exterior (parked at R's place for visit), and map of places I went (Hawaii came later though, with R)

...1977: (some months)... Memphis--living at home with grandmother... building van (see pics above of finished interior) and getting ready for U.S. trip, helping grandmother get ready to move after husband's death, etc.
pic: the old homestead on Peabody (grandmother's house; I lived there from 1962-68 as well)

....1974-1976: New Haven CT...working at Yale-New Haven Hospital/Med School (for previous Mphs boss)... not my most fun years for various reasons but did get in some New England traveling

....1973 (part of): Memphis, getting re-acclimated after Eur. trip, helping relative, working for Chancellor of Univ. of Tenn. Medical School as temp

....1970-1973 (3 yrs): Europe+...backpacking (generally alone) years 1 and 3, middle-year working on 2 Army bases in/near Stuttgart, Germany--first in snack bar then as sec'y after taking GS test to make money for more travel and to increase daily travel allowance from $3.50 to $5.00 which was great! (met Roger then as well)... really sorted out and learned who *I* was/liked/believed/valued during that trip; changed a lot and became even more independent
...pics: map of travels, Germany in wintery high mtns, Russia (tourist took pic), St. Basil's Cathedral (I took very few pics in trip to save $), with Roger while working in Germany--hated having pic taken, just after return from travels very tan (about to go to a wedding with Johnny and trying to look sarcastic but just weird--never wanted to be "fancy")

....1968-1970: New York City...lived on Lower East Side in an old "settlement house" so worked there part-time for room, along with 11 other people fresh out of college; started to learn to cook (my college friend Peggy had told me about the place and was there while studying at Columbia)... Peggy and I later moved next door and to upper west side a while, and I lived in the East Village for a summer... went to school some first year, then worked at NYU hospital and later Col.Presbyterian hospital for an epidemiologist doing research ...since jr year college had been learning what I think and I value, but furthered that and changed a lot during this time not only because of being on my own but also from the huge social differences experienced in the cultures and times
...pics: don't have many pics of then but below is the "quilt square" I made for Peggy's finally-finished-with-PhD-quilt, using vignettes of the 11 who lived in the settlement house around the edges; also a closer-up view of the kitchen vignette... larger views of all plus the friends' squares at at this link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianeglasssattic/sets/72157631914664907

...1968: (most of summer), Atlanta GA... had gone there with idea of later possibly marrying someone from college but knew first day didn't want that to happen... worked couple of months at a bank doing reconciliation of accts while living with his relatives

....1968-birth: graduation from college/Southwestern/Rhodes to birth... other schools attended St. Mary's school (twice), White Station Elementary, East High (twice), and Central H.S. in Midtown

Just had to create 3rd blog...ack!...to be able to get to my other blogs? When I "signed in," (even though already signed in at Gmail) my username (email without domain) and password were accepted, but wouldn't let me do anything else but create a new blog.